Three Score in Double Figures as Gauchos Beat Pacific

STOCKTON, Calif. -
While revenge might have been on the UC Santa Barbara women's basketball team's minds on Saturday at the Spanos Center, they still also had to battle their normal bugaboo of the turnover.

Fortunately, both worked out well - or at least, victorious - for the Gauchos as they held off Pacific for a 65-58 win to improve to 2-1 in the Big West and 5-10 overall. The Tigers fall to 3-11, 1-3.

Last season, UCSB shot just 17% in the second half here, which erased a five-point halftime lead and dropped its lone conference game, 59-50 to the Tigers. So, revenge was taken care of.

Though UCSB committed 31 turnovers on Saturday, a season high, the Gauchos shot 49% from the floor and were paced by Meagan Williams' 18 points, which tied her season high. Williams also had three rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots.

"Obviously the turnovers are a concern and we're working on it," UCSB head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. "I thought our effort out of the gates was great."

Saturday started much different than last season ended. The Gauchos shot 52% from the field in the first half and despite committing 17 turnovers in the first stanza, took a 34-20 lead into the half.

Though Pacific cut into UCSB's lead in the second half, the Gauchos were able to break the Tigers' press and score many transition baskets, keeping the Tigers at bay. UOP got as close as nine a handful of times in the second half before ending the game with their smallest margin in the entire second half.

Overall, 32 of the Gauchos' points came in the paint.

UCSB returns home for a lone home game on Thursday at 7 p.m. vs. Long Beach State in the Thunderdome. Fans can receive $1 off a ticket for every canned food item they bring to the Thunderdome, receiving a discount up to $5. The game can be heard live on AM 990 or streaming online by clicking clicking here..

UCSB Athletics has a new weekly radio show called Talk'n Gauchos which airs every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m. on AM 1490 KIST. The show is broadcast live from State & A Bar and Grill, located on the corner of State Street and Anapamu Street in Santa Barbara. Fans are encouraged to attend the show for free gear and ticket giveaways or to even e-mail a question in to one of the guests and have it read live over the air. The show also airs live online via audio streaming and fans can click here to check out the entire lineup of live audio streaming online.

UCSB Athletics is proud to introduce GKids - its new official kids club! GKids members will receive a free GKids t-shirt, free admittance to tons of Gaucho games, opportunities to be ball boys and girls at games, a special birthday greeting from Olie (the new GKids mascot) and much, much more! For more information on GKids, or to become a member, please click here.